Revolving foldable bookstand



March 18, 1969 TsUAN-TONG CHEN 3,433,364

REVOLVING FOLDABLE BOOKSTAND' Filed Jan. 19. 1967 sheet INVENTOR TSUAN-TONG CHEN ATTORNEYS March 18, 1969 Filed Jan. 19, 1967 TSUAN-TONG CHEN REVOLVING FOLDABLE BOOKSTAND lNVENTOR TSUAN-TONG CHEN ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,433,364 REVOLVING FOLDABLE BOOKSTAND Tsuan-Tong Chen, 319 Custer St., Evanston, Ill. 60202 Filed Jan. 19, 1967, Ser. No. 610,275 U.S. Cl. 211-42 3 Claims Int. Cl. A4711 65/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a revolving bookstand in the form of a square platform mounted on a base for rotational movement about its axial center and having hinged to each side thereof, adjacent one end of the respective sides, a leaf member that is proportioned to extend no further than about one-half the length of the respective platform sides, with the leaf members being hinged to move between an upright book supporting position and a retracted position lying on the face of the platform. The leaf members in their upright positions define between them book receiving quadrants on which books may be shelved in an upright side-to-side position with their lbacks facing outwardly of the respective quadrants. Two forms of the device are disclosed, one in which the platform and leaf members are in panel form, and the other in which the platform and leaf members are fabricated wire structures.

My invention relates to a revolving foldable bookstand, and more particularly to a bookstand arrangement of the type in which books are applied to a swingable platform as distinguished from a bookcase.

Books are customarily stored in the home, classroom, library, or the like in stationary bookcases that are formed 'by shelves that arrange the `books in vertically disposed rows. While this may `be a satisfactory way to store a large number of books, it usually requires a bookcase of such proportions that valuable wall or other space would be occupied. This type of thing is ordinarily not warranted where one wishes to keep handy only a small number of books.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a bookstand arrangement in the form of a comparatively small and compact revolving platform on which the books may be placed for ready access and display of their titles, and which may be readily collapsed to even a more compact form for carrying purposes or for serving as a pedestal for a vase or the like.

Another principal object of my invention is to provide .a compact open top revolving bookstand arrangement which permits ready access to the books carried thereby as well as permitting a ready inspection of their titles.

Other important objects of the invention are to provide a bookstand arrangement for a limited number of books that occupies no more space than a small round table, to provide a revolving bookstand arrangement that is flexible in use and design, and to provide a revolving bookstand arrangement that is economical of `manufacture, convenient in use, and readily adapted for application to a wide variety of situations.

Still other objects, uses, and advantages will be obvious or become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the application drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of one embodiment of my invention illustrating how the books are applied thereto;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of the bookstand arrangement shown in FIGURE 1, showing all the parts thereof;

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FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view through the pedestal and platform of the stand with parts broken away;

FIGURE 3A is a bottom plan view of the bearing unit of this embodiment, with the bearing balls omitted;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmental cross-sectional view taken substantially along line `4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating another embodiment of my invention to which books would be applied in the manner indicated in FIG- URE l;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of the device shown in FIGURE 5 with the bookholding leaves shown in their folded positions;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmental cross-sectional view similar to that of FIGURE 4 but of the embodiment of FIG- URE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a vertical sectional view similar to that of FIGURE 3 through the bookstand of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmental perspective view of one of the bookholding leaves of FIGURE 5 illustrating how it may be adjusted in accordance with the number of books to be shelved; and

FIGURE 10 is a plan view of the leaf and adjacent platform portion that are shown in FIGURE 9, illustrating the leaf in its retracted position.

However, it is to be understood that the specific drawing illustrations provided are supplied primarily to comply with the requirements of the Patent Code, and the invention ymay have other embodiments which will be o'bvious to those skilled in the art and are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION Reference numeral 10 of FIGURES 1 and 2 generally indicates one embodiment of my invention comprising a base or pedestal 12 which has revolvably mounted thereon a square planar platform 14 provided with a leaf or brace .member 16 hinged as at 18 to each side edge 20 of the platform 14.

The platform 14 defines an upwardly facing substantially planar book receiving surface 22. The leaf or brace members in the form shown, as indicated in FIGURE 2, have a length which is no `greater than about one-half the length of the platform side 20 to which they are attached, so that adjacent leaf or brace members 16 each form opposed edges 24 and faces 26 that define between them book receiving areas or quadrants 28 on the platform 14 on which books 30 may be shelved in the manner indicated in FIGURE 1. As shown in FIGURE 1, the books 30 are shelved in their upright positions sideto-side with their backs 32 facing outwardly of their respective quadrants to expose the titles of the books that are ordinarily placed on the backs 32 of the books.

FIGURES 5-10 illustrate another embodiment of the invention 10A in the form of planar square platform 14A revolvably mounted on a low level base or pedestal 12A and provided with leaf or -brace members 16A that are arranged in the same manner as leaf members 16 to define edges 24A and front surfaces 26A that dene book receiving quadrants 28A about the platform 14A on which books may be placed in the manner described in connection with the embodiment of FIGURES l-4.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION Returning now more specifically to the embodiment of FIGURES 1-4, the base or pedestal 12 may be formed from any suitable material such as wood or metal but an inexpensive plastic material is preferred, and as indicated in the drawings, the pedestral defines a square foot 40 including a narrow upstanding neck 42 formed with an upwardly facing planar surface or top 44. The

pedestal 12 along its axial center is formed with a bore 46 counterbored as at 48 to receive the head 50 of bolt 52 having the usual threaded end portion `54 that is intended to cooperate with the platform 14 to secure same to the pedestal 12.

The platform 14 4generally comprises a square sheet or panel formed from any suitable material such as wood or an appropriate plastic and having a boss 56 formed at its midportion defining a planar downwardly facing surface 58. The sheet 55 comprising platform 14 is also formed at its axial center with a bore 60 which receives a stud portion 62 of a pronged disc 64 in which the prongs 66 thereof are angled with respect to the disc 64 so that the disc 64 can be secured to dispose stud portion 62 within bore 60 by driving prongs 66 into the platform 14.

The stud portion 62 is internally threaded to threadedly cooperate with threaded end 54 of bolt 52 (see FIGURE 3).

Interposed between the platform 14 and the pedestal 12 is a ball bearing anti-friction unit 70 comp-rising a disc 72 formed with a plurality of openings 74 in which ball bearings 76 are respectively received. Preferably the disc 72 at each opening 74 is formed with a pair of retaining oppositely disposed ball retaining fingers 75 to facilitate assembly of the device.

As indicated in FIGURE 3, the relation between the pedestal bore 46 and the outer diameter of Xbolt shank `53 is such that a clearance V80` exists between the bolt and the bore 46 when the parts are assembled as indicated in FIGURE 3 so that the bolt 52 turns with the platform 14 without rubbing against the pedestal. The relation of parts -should be such that the head 50 of the bolt is also spaced somewhat from the shoulder 82 delined by counterbore 48 when the bolt is threaded into the threaded socket defined by stud portion 62 defined by disc 64, Ibut not enough to permit escape of bearing balls 76. Disc 72 is formed with an opening 77 through which bolt 52 freely passes.

The leaf or brace members 16 each comprise a panel member 90 formed from any suitable material such as wood, metal or plastic, with the panel members 90 being generally parallelepiped in configuration defining inner face 92, outer face 94, side edge surfaces 96 and 98, and top and bottom edge surfaces 100 and 102. The respective panels in the form shown are rectangular in configuration and are secured to the respective edges 20 of platform 14 by suitable hinge devices such as those indicated at 18 which comprise a pair of leaf members 104 hinged together by a suitable pin 106 and affixed to the respective panel members and platform `by suitable screws 108. As shown in FIGURE 4, the hinge leaf members are preferably positioned in recesses 107 and 109 so as to be flush with the respective surfaces 22 and 92.

It will thus be seen that the leaf or brace members 16 may be swung from a retracted position in which their faces 92 substantially engage or abut the upwardly facing surface 22 of platform 14 to a position in which their edge surfaces 102 abut the said surface 22 whereby they are braced in bookholding position.

It will thus lbe seen that when the leaf or .brace members 16 are moved to their retracted positions, the bookstand may serve as a revolving table for a flower vase or the like, which may be disposed on platform 14 between the top edge surfaces 100 of the respective panel members 90. The surfaces or faces 94 4may be decorated to provide eye appeal for the members 16 when used in this manner.

When the ydevice is used as a bookcase, the leaf members 16 are swung to their positions of FIGURES 1 and 2 and books 30 are applied in the manner indicated in FIGURE 1 to the quadrants 28 defined by the leaf or brace members 16. It will be noted that in the case of the respective panels 30, the edge surface 98 defines the aforementioned quadrant defining edge 24 while the front surface 92 defines the aforementioned quadrant defining surface 26 about the platform 14.

Since platform 14 is mounted to be rotated in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis in alignment with the bore 80, platform 14 may be readily rotated by the user to locate the book he desires. Thus, the bookstand arrangement 10 is proportioned and arranged so that the stand may be conveniently positioned adjacent ones easy chair or disposed adjacent to or on ones desk.

Referring now to the embodiment of FIGURES 5-10, the base or pedestal 12A comprises a dished element 120 that is preferably press formed from copper sheeting to define the configuration illustrated, which includes annular indentation 122 defining annular raceway 124 for a plurality of bearing balls 126 that are applied between the base or pedestal 12A and platform 14A. Platform 14A comprises a fabricated wire and plate base structure 128 which comprises four wire lengths 130, 132, 134 and 136, each in the composite form illustrated, secured together at their ends to define a rectangle and to make platform 14A fiat, with mounting wire lengths 138 extending between the respective wire lengths 130, 132, 134 and 136 and a base plate 140 of platform 14A. The base plate 140 and the wire components 130 through 138 (including elements 130A and 130B that make up member and members 132, 134 and 136 being arranged in like manner) may be fixed together in the manner indicated by brazing or the like and the resulting framework structure is braced by reinforcing wire components 142. In the arrangement illustrated, a :bracing wire element 142 extends between and is fixed as by brazing between the respective side wire elements 130, 132, 134 and 136 and an adjacent brace element 138. The components making up the side Wire elements may be brazed in place, and the side elements may alternately take the form of a single wire bent to the Shape indicated.

The base plate in the form shown is press formed from copper sheeting material to define the generally planar quadrilateral configuration illustrated as well as annular indentation 144 that defines annular raceway 146 for bearing balls 12-6. The members 140 and 120 are preferably permanently secured together against the bearing balls 126 by a suitable rivet 148 with the result that the platform 14A will revolve freely with respect to the pedestal 12A.

The leaf or brace members 16A (see FIGURE 9) each comprise a U-shaped wire element having its legs 152 afiixed as by brazing to a base wire element 154 which has its ends turned over on themselves as at 156 so as to receive one of the platform side wire elements 130, 132, 134 and 136, respectively, and a brace wire element 138. The bent over end portions 156 of base wire element 154 are disposed in a plane at an angle of approximately 45 degrees with respect to the plane of the U- shaped wire element 150, so that when leaf members 16A are swung from the substantially horizontal position to their upright positions, the turned over end portion 156 will serve to releasably hold leaf members 16A in an upright position (see FIGURE 7). The end portions 156 may have applied thereto a covering or end cap 158 formed from a suitable resilient material so that they will not mar the wire elements they engage with.

The U-shaped wire elements 150 are preferably braced by angular wire element 160 brazed between its legs 152 and its web 162. The resulting leaf members 16A may be adjusted inwardly of the platform 14A by swinging them as may be necessary to make them free sliding, and then moving them inwardly of the edge of platform 14A (see FIGURE 9). This permits a fragment of the book receiving quadrant defined by the respective leaf members i16A to be used to hold the books and keep them all upright.

The embodiment of FIGURES 5-10 may be used in the same manner as that of FIGURES 1-4.

The square quadrilateral conguration and the four leaf arrangements illustrated are preferred, but in variant forms of the invention the platform may be rectangular, and one or several of the leaves omitted to provide the type of loading desired. Also, stacked loading platforms of the type described may be provided by journalling platforms such as those disclosed in spaced apart relation on an upright rod member supported by a suitable base of the type shown in FIGUREl 3.

The foregoing description and the drawings are given merely to explain and illustrate my invention and the invention is not to be limited thereto, since those skilled in the art who have my disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An open top revolving bookstand comprising:

a base,

a planar square platform mounted on said base for swinging movement about the midportion thereof in a plane extending transversely of said base,

said platform being in a horizontal position when said base is disposed in its upright position,

each side of said platform having a leaf member hinged thereto and proportioned lengthwise to extend no further than about one-half the length of the respective platform sides, said leaf members being hinged for movement between upright book supporting positions and retracted positions parallel and juxtaposed to said platform,

and means for releasably holding said leaf members in their upright positions, whereby adjacent leaf members when in their said upright positions dene between them book receiving quadrants on said platform on which books may be shelved in an upright position side-to-side with their backs facing outwardly of the respective quadrants,

said base and the undersurface of said platform being formed to deiine annular raceways,

with a plurality of bearing balls being received in asid raceways,

and including means for securing said platform and base raceways against separation,

said platform comprising a wire framework having a disc member secured at the midportion thereof shaped to define said platform raceway,

said base comprising a disc member,

said securing means comprising rivet means applied between said disc members.

2. The bookstand set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said leaf members have means for slidable adjustment movement laterally thereof on said wire framework.

3. An open top combination revolving bookstand and pedestal comprising:

a base,

a planar square platform mounted on said base for swinging movement about the midportion thereof in a plane extending transversely of said base,

said platform being disposed in a horizontal position when said base is disposed in its upright position,

each side of said platform having a leaf member disposed adjacent the edge of the respective sides and parallel to same,

whereby the leaf members of opposed sides of said platform are parallel to each other,

said leaf member being proportioned lengthwise of the respective sides to extend no further than about onehalf the length of the respective platform sides,

said leaf members being disposed adjacent one end of the respective platform sides and being hinged to said platform for movement between upright book supporting positions at the respective sides of said platform and retracted positions parallel and juxtaposed to said platform and extending inwardly of the respective sides of said platform,

said leaf members being proportioned to extend short of the midportion of said platform when in their retracted positions,

and means for releasably holding said leaf members in their upright positions,

said platform defining an open center portion between said opposed leaf members thereof,

whereby adjacent leaf members of said platform when in their said upright positions define between them book receiving quadrants on said platform extending to said platform center portion on which books may be shelved in an upright position side-toside with their backs facing outwardly of the respective quadrants and their fronts abutting the side of the first book in the next adjacent quadrant,

and when said leaf members are in their said retracted positions, the space between same may be employed to support a vase or the like.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner. WILLIAM D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

